Broken Water Main Floods Rainbow Crosswalks in West Hollywood

A broken water main at the alley behind Heart WeHo Nightclub gushed water down San Vicente Boulevard at the Santa Monica Boulevard intersection flooding the area around the Progress Rainbow Crosswalks in the heart of the LGBT Rainbow District. Water and dirt covered the intersection and some community members needed assistance get past the flooding water this afternoon.

According to sources, it took Beverly Hills Water Division about an hour to respond and shutoff the water flow. The northern block of Hilldale Avenue to San Vincente Boulevard had their water cutoff. Local businesses like Z-Pizza and Micky’s WeHo were concerned they would have their water cutoff as well while repairs were made, forcing them to close for the evening. As of the posting of this piece, their water remains on and they are open for business.

The broken water main happened shortly after the City of West Hollywood got the word out about new Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) water conservation rules now in effect. All LADWP customers — residential and commercial — are now limited to two-days-a-week outdoor watering as well as other water use restrictions. LADWP customers with street addresses ending in odd-numbers may water on Mondays and Fridays and customers with even-numbered street addresses may water on Thursdays and Sundays, before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m. LADWP’s new rules call for no watering between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., regardless of the day.

New LADWP restrictions also include two recommended practices: the use of pool covers to prevent evaporation, and the washing of vehicles at commercial car wash facilities. Hand watering is allowed every day before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. if the hose is equipped with a self-closing water shut-off device.

Existing water conservation practices continue to be in place:

1. Limiting outdoor watering with sprinklers to eight minutes per station on permitted watering days
2. Watering with sprinklers using water-conserving nozzles for up to 15 minutes, twice a day, on the permitted watering day
3. No water should flow off of property
4. No water should leak from any pipe or fixture
5. No watering within 48 hours after a measurable rain event
6. No hosing of driveway or sidewalk
7. No washing of vehicles using a hose without a self-closing nozzle

More information on the new watering days is available at www.ladwp.com/wateringdays.